When I take off my make-up, I look old and defeated
I'm not so dangerous
Cry into my Christmas cake
Staring holes into me all night
You should just give up
Because our love's become
Selling secrets to the Russians
They don't need
The cold war is on between you and me

25 years old and a bachelor's degree
Your parents helped out with graduation fees
The loans were never enough
The credit cards are calling your bluff
Hold your hand, cut them up, move away
Or you'll be paying them off until your kids grow up
And do the same

There's no more running water
Wrapping presents in the dark
Move into your car
Change where you park
Too bad that job caroling department stores fell through
But the new year is right in front of you

I fear I'm going deaf
I've got some sense left
Give up some more to be with you
(Oh)
Because what good is seeing if love's not looking back at you?
(Ah)
And what good is feeling if my hands aren't touching you?

And another angel came down
He was wearing only a cloud
He said, "Sew up the bad that you've done
Tomorrow, Christmas day comes"
(Christmas day)

Cry into your Christmas cake
Don't know what else to do
Cry into your Christmas cake
Don't know what else to do
The new year's right in front of you
(Fa la la fa la la la la)

9 Comments

General Commentwell, it's about a person who feels strongly against herself/himself..who has spend the time to go to college and get a bachelor's degree and is still unable to pay off certain necessities like electricity and water and a house, yet can afford christmas presents i suppose.
and then at the end it gets hopeful because the next day is christmas/new years
which is like a new beginning for that person

General CommentOh boy howdy I can relate. I recently graduated college and now have my bachelor's in fine arts in graphic design, but no job to show for it. And I am about to have to start paying back student loans, which I am going to be paying for for the next 20 years ("Or you'll be payin' them off until your kids grow up and do the same.")

It is frickin' hard to afford a place to live, student loans, and all the other necessities. Soon enough I am going to have to move into my car just so I can be that much closer to even beginning to afford student loans.

WORD TO THE WISE: Go to a public college. Private is not worth the loans.

General CommentAnd $500+/month in student loans is nothin' compared to how cheaply you can get some presents. Plus, she probably used the credit cards to buy them, and now the credit people are coming after her because she cannot pay them back.

General Commentcreepy, haunting, sad, hopeful, beautiful, this song has everything. I love the opening line, there is so much meaning in it. It's like, my life is in shambles, but its that magical time of year, a little glimmer of hope. I think it really captures American life, specifically the madness that goes on during Christmas.

General CommentMaybe it's a a little to out of the way, but this song tells a story to me. It sounds like someone(The speaker of the song) lived with their significant other, and was comfortable. They were living paycheck to paycheck, but they still got by. And then the speaker and their significant other broke apart, and the speaker stayed in the house. With too much pride to turn to their parents (Who already helped with a little money) they continued living their life as if nothing happened. Jobs fell through, and nothing worked, but still too much pride to ask for help. So they continue on to Christmas, buying gifts for their family members as if nothing has happened, and they have money to spare; to save face, essentially. And so they lament over what they've done, but they feel absolutely powerless to change anything.

General CommentI love this song, ahhh it's such a good story. But I think people are missing the point here. The moral of the story is that no matter how shitty life is there are always moments of Christmas. The protagonist is inspired to continue her hard work fueled by the prospect of The New Year. break it down.
Main character is depressed/suicidal and is pestered by her inability to find meaning in life which is currently one plague after the other.
The angel is something that inspires her to remember that always and unexpectedly good events occur (Christmas) that allow you to regain yourself (New Year).
It's kind of the same as that one song with all the soldier music she has...uh what's it called...sometimes in the morning i am terrified and can't move... That one. Where she is singing about how when you're that depressed it's difficult to remember that by responding to the quick bursts of life's happiness by savoring and recognizing them makes it worth the trouble.
That was way longer than I meant it to be. I hope you guys tear my ass apart.

My InterpretationOh my GOD, this song horrifies me! I've seriously burst into tears because of this song.

When I take off my make-up, I look old and defeated
I'm not so dangerous
Cry into my Christmas cake
Staring holes into me all night
You should just give up
Because our love's become
Selling secrets to the Russians
They don't need
The cold war is on between you and me

The woman in the story is getting older. She's not the sassy, young kid she used to be. "Old and defeated." Her own age is staring her in the face, encouraging her to give up. Even the person she wants to be seeing won't love her properly, so they're trading secrets back and forth to screw the other one over. The cold war is on has a double meaning, I think. On one hand, its alluding to the historical Cold War, a war when we didn't use weapons, only words and policy. On the other, the word "frigid" comes to mind. Cold war, who can be less passionate in order to make the other one give up?

25 years old and a bachelor's degree
Your parents helped out with graduation fees
The loans were never enough
The credit cards are calling your bluff
Hold your hand, cut them up, move away
Or you'll be paying them off until your kids grow up
And do the same

A bit of exposition on the character. She's 25, the "Chirstmas Cake" age where she has to find a husband and fast. She has a degree, so one would think that would be an easy task, but she's having financial trouble. The credit cards that she needed to buy things are hounding her down, so she has to cut them up and run away from debt collectors, unless she wants to be paying them off until her kids go to college as well.

There's no more running water
Wrapping presents in the dark
Move into your car
Change where you park
Too bad that job caroling department stores fell through
But the new year is right in front of you
Cry into your Christmas cake
Don't know what else to do
Don't know what else to do

Aaaand here's where I start bawling. Her life is turning into a larger mess. She can't afford water, electricity or a home. She doesn't have a job. She's still getting older. Despair is all that's in front of her.

I fear I'm going deaf
I've got some sense left
Give up some more to be with you
Because what good is seeing if love's not looking back at you?
And what good is feeling if my hands aren't touching you?

Ohhh, this verse. Double meanings abound! Sense versus cents. If we look at it from a "sense," point of view then she's gotten old enough to the point of losing her hearing, but she'd give up all of her senses to be with the one she loves because she sees no point in being able to see or touch if her love isn't with her. On the "cents" side, she has just a little money left. Not even dollar amounts. She'd give it up for him though but, like the electricity she might have had for her lights and heat, she doesn't have him.

And another angel came down
He was wearing only a cloud
He said, "Sew up the bad that you've done
Tomorrow, Christmas day comes"

This angel, I feel, doesn't really represent another chance so much as the chances she's missed. "Sew up the bad that you've done" isn't really telling her to fix her mistakes so much as be resigned to them. "Tomorrow, Christmas day comes" indicates the imminent aging of the subject in question. She has no choice.

Cry into your Christmas cake
Don't know what else to do
Cry into your Christmas cake
Don't know what else to do
The new year's right in front of you

In short, this song means "You're getting older and, if you focus on education, you can't get love. But if you focused on your love, then you can't get a job. You will die impoverished and alone." AAAAAAHHHHHH